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Glass and digital information wherever you look. The information on speed and energy consumption is shown in three dimensions behind the steering wheel. A digital map the size of an unfolded Falk map appears on the monitor to the right. A display like a flat screen TV: 1.41 meters wide, a total of 2400 square centimeters of digital space. Without knobs, buttons or knobs. For this screen landscape in the cockpit of the EQS, the electric counterpart to the S-Class, Mercedes has come up with a name that sounds more like a space shuttle than a luxury sedan: The structure is called "Hyperscreen".
It took Mercedes engineers around three years to develop it. The hyperscreen consists of three displays - one behind the steering wheel, one in the center console and one in front of the front passenger seat - which are held together by a frame and extend over almost the entire width of the vehicle. A cover glass made of scratch-resistant and break-proof aluminum silicate, bent at 650 degrees Celsius, connects the three displays to form an optical unit and offers a distortion-free view.
Two coatings minimize reflections and make cleaning easier; a camera and light sensor regulate the brightness of each monitor.
Ambient lighting in the lower area gives the impression that the glass construction is floating.
Inside, the three screens are powered by eight high-performance processors, and twelve servomotors provide haptic feedback in the form of vibrations that can be felt when touching the fingertip.
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The hyperscreen in the Mercedes EQS is the preliminary climax of a development in which the digital penetration of almost all aspects of life is reflected: The screens in the car are getting bigger and bigger.
"Displays are increasingly becoming an integral part of the vehicle interior," confirms Nils Schanz, Head of the Voice Control and Operating Concepts Department at Mercedes-Benz.
While pixelated map display on a palm-sized central screen was still the measure of all things at the end of the 1990s, top models like the EQS now have high-resolution OLED monitors with self-illuminating pixels that appear bright and clear even in daylight.
New hierarchies, new forms of relationships
The operating system acts as an assistant who “is constantly learning and making suggestions to the driver,” explains Schanz. This assistant reacts to the call "Hey, Mercedes", offers massage programs or reminds you of appointments. Mercedes attaches great importance to the fact that sovereignty always remains with the driver, but critics fear that such assistance functions will become independent. "We are now experiencing a veritable dictatorship of the screen," says the design professor and automotive expert Paolo Tumminelli from the Cologne International School of Design. “The screens do more than just shimmer brightly. They point to an artificial intelligence in the automobile. They create new hierarchies and new forms of relationships. Take a break, keep your distance, get a massage: the car tells us - initially in a friendly manner - what we want and should."Where this could lead, HAL 9000 made clear, the murderous on-board computer from Stanley Kubrick's" 2001 - A Space Odyssey ".
The development of the digital cockpit dates back to the early 1970s, initially with studies and prototypes, and later with series vehicles.
Instead of needles and mechanical counters, colorful liquid crystals suddenly showed the most important information.
Aston Martin installed the first digital cockpit in a production model in its Lagonda luxury sedan in 1976, but the technology was not very reliable and regularly failed.
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When game consoles and personal computers first became popular in the early 1980s, digital technology found its way into more affordable models. From today's perspective, many development steps seem touchingly old-fashioned. In the Opel Kadett GSi, from 1983 onwards, the drivers looked at a digital cockpit, which fans quickly dubbed the “mouse cinema”. Speed, engine speed, tank filling and oil level were shown on orange LCD displays, also in the Senator B and the Monza.
In the same year, Audi showed the driver the information on the Quattro in three LCD displays lying next to one another; it looked similar with the Corvette C4 from Chevrolet.
From 1986, Golf GTI drivers were able to order a "Digital Driver Information Center" (Digific).
From 1984 Alfa Romeo equipped its 90 with digital displays, Fiat from 1988 its Tipo.
In 1985 the Citroën BX caused a sensation in the “Digit” special model: its instrument cluster was completely digital.
From 1986, the driver of the Buick Rivera could operate individual functions by hand on the monitor - the first touchscreen in the car.
"Digital Driver Information Center", or "DigiFiz" for short in the VW Golf GTI (1986)
Source: Volkswagen AG
The age of connected driving began in the early 1990s.
With the Mazda Cosmo's Car Control System (CCS), the driver was able to use the first GPS-based navigation system to point the way in 1991.
At the turn of the millennium, vehicle information and entertainment functions came together in infontainment systems such as the iDrive from BMW, which was introduced in 2001 and is now in its eighth generation.
Tesla set a new standard in 2012 with the vertical monitor in the S model, which also stands for the tendency to relieve the driver of decisions.
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Since then, manufacturers have repeatedly outdone each other when it comes to screen size. Three years ago, the Chinese car maker Byton presented a record-breaking 48-inch monitor in its M-Byte model - but it remained with the show effect, the company is as good as bankrupt. Today, the displays can be dragged from one display to the other with swiping movements, and gesture control and eye tracking should further simplify operation in the future.
And all of this for the benefit of the driver?
Depends on.
A Tesla driver got off the road in the rain two years ago because he wanted to adjust the wiper interval on the central screen.
He was fined 200 euros and banned from driving for a month for improperly using an electronic device.
The court equated the monitor with a cell phone.
Driving pleasure was yesterday
So are big screens dangerous? Siegfried Brockmann, Head of Accident Research at the Association of Insurers, sees advantages in digital cockpits. “Digital instruments can display important information in a larger and more targeted manner, for example the speed or the current speed limit,” he explains. "As a large number on the display behind the steering wheel or as a projection on the windshield, the driver can see it directly."
The problem lies with the central touchscreens, whose menu navigation is often too playful and offers too many options. "Functions on the second or third level can hardly be operated while driving and are therefore dangerous," says the accident researcher. The eyes should always be on the road, so buttons or haptic controls are safer. They give the driver feedback and can be operated blindly. "Standard functions such as navigation systems, lights and windshield wipers have to be easy and intuitive to use," says Brockmann.
The operation of the Mercedes EQS therefore follows the one-layer principle, which bundles central functions such as route guidance or telephony on the first level; these functions can also be controlled via touchpads on the steering wheel and voice commands. The adaptive operating system fades in other applications depending on the situation and individual preferences of the driver. What could fall by the wayside when automobiles are digitally upgraded, however, is driving enjoyment. "Sheer driving pleasure was yesterday," says design professor Tumminelli. “You drive slower and slower and are constantly restricted and controlled. Screens provide entertainment, as a counterpoint to the boredom of driving. "Tumminelli admits that the unlimited entertainment options also appear seductive:" If you are ready to give up the tour,the autonomously driving object of the future will no longer be a car, but a screen on wheels. "
The rotating display that Bentley offers for its Continental GT is therefore the greatest luxury for nostalgics.
You can make it disappear behind a fine wood veneer at the push of a button.
Digital evolution: from LCD display to drive-in cinema
1976 - Failed all the time: The first digital cockpit in the Aston Martin Lagonda
Source: Aston Martin
1983 - Nickname Mäusekino: Advertisement in the Opel Kadett GSi
Source: Opel Automobile GmbH
1985 - "Digit" special model: digital display in the Citroën BX
Source: Michael Werth / bxig.net
1986 - Touch sensitive: The first touchscreen in the Buick Riviera
Source: General Motors LLC
1991 - Satellite connection: Car Control System in the Mazda Cosmo
Source: Mazda Motors
2001 - iDrive infotainment system in the BMW 7 series
Source: BMW Group Archive
2012 - Vertical screen: 17-inch touchscreen in the Tesla Model S.
Source: Wolfgang Groeger-Meier / AUTO BILD
2018 - Widescreen format: 48-inch M byte monitor from Byton
Source: byton.com
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